Exterior trim

dbeckwith · Post by **dbeckwith** » 20 Aug 2011, 08:50

Someone with body experience? Is there a trick to safely removing exterior trim pieces

Thankx

Post by **phat78ta** » 20 Aug 2011, 10:13

which trim? the door bump guards?

There is a clip at the rear of the trim that you have to pop the trim off of(using a plastic stick or pry tool), and then the whole piece will slide to the rear of the car @ an inch. You can them pull the trim off away from the car, and you will see the slots where the moulding clips slide into. The fender trim just pops off the body, and the clips stay on the panel.

dbeckwith · Post by **dbeckwith** » 20 Aug 2011, 11:12

Thank you phat78ta! The original trim has become quite faded and I thought I would spruce it up a bit. Much easier to take it off than trying to mask it and hope you don't get any runs

benrice33 · Post by **benrice33** » 20 Aug 2011, 15:39

If you haven't already started your respray job there is a thread about how to use a heat gun to recondition the plastic and darken them up some. Here's the link: https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=38239&p=181469

dbeckwith · Post by **dbeckwith** » 20 Aug 2011, 16:42

benrice33 wrote:If you haven't already started your respray job there is a thread about how to use a heat gun to recondition the plastic and darken them up some. Here's the link: https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=38239&p=181469

Now that you bring it up I remember the post about the heat gun. Alas, I had already started on the door trim with Forever Black. I had purchased this stuff months ago so I thought if I could get the trim off and do it inside instead of in the heat outside I would give it a shot. So far not entirely impressed, although it is noticeably darker when placed side by side with an untreated piece. Now if I can figure out how to remove bumper pieces without messing them up I can do those inside also. That will result in a remarkable difference

Post by **erikv11** » 18 Jun 2012, 23:10

phat78ta wrote:which trim? the door bump guards?

There is a clip at the rear of the trim that you have to pop the trim off of(using a plastic stick or pry tool), and then the whole piece will slide to the rear of the car @ an inch. You can them pull the trim off away from the car, and you will see the slots where the moulding clips slide into. The fender trim just pops off the body, and the clips stay on the panel.

Just wanted to save some others a headache: this was the most detailed post I could find for removing the exterior door trim (bump guards), but the instructions here are wrong. I mean perhaps this method works, but it will bend and damage the trim. Not surprisingly, Volvo designed a much cleaner way to get it done.

The trim is held on by 4 or 5 clips. The key to the removal is this: the rear-most clip is held on by a T-15 screw, while the other clips each slide into a notch in the door shell. So to remove the trim, open the door, locate the round plastic plug that hides the rear-most screw, back by the door latch. Pop off the little black cap then unscrew and remove the 1/4 inch long screw behind it (uses a T-15 torx). Now, with the door open, slide the trim piece *forward* (NOT backward as described above!!). The sliding will release the other clips from their notches. The trim piece will just fall off in your hands, with all the clips intact and still attached. No forcing, no banging, piece of cake, takes like 2 minutes. Installation is the reverse.

Post by **rspi** » 19 Jun 2012, 07:45

LOL, when I seen those instructions above, I said, Oh No!!! The removal should take less than 2 minutes but I guess the point is made. The door has slots and groves in it made to channel the door clips. Just a little note, that T-15 screw likes to fall down in the door so try not to drop it.

The front finder molding does slide and pull off, I'll double check it and post back in a few minutes.